Look at a picture in a newspaper. If you look closely enough, if you have a sharp focus, if you care to look, you will see the grey is made of black and white. I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a homeschooling parent and a Canadian. And I hope to bring some focus, thought and logic to everyday life.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Socialists are Childish

My children have taught me many lessons, and the recent one is that socialists are childish. Let me relate some recent events:

My youngest wanted me to give her some money so that she could put it in the collection plate at church. Whether she wanted to do so out of a sense of obligation or for the good feelings that come with giving to others, I don’t know. But when I suggested she give some of her own money she said no, “because I don’t want to waste it”.

My youngest also saw a pile of coins on my desk. She asked if she could have some. I said no, because it was my money. Then she proceeded to complain that it wasn’t fair.

Children start out as pure emotion. They start with no logic circuits. They want and if they can’t have they complain and cry. Every problem in the world has a simple solution; get Daddy to fix it. Every need and desire will find a simple resolution; get Daddy to buy it.

As parents we understand all of this, and we work with our children to help them grow into useful and productive citizens. We have a responsibility to share our own wealth with others. We work hard for what we have, and if we have more than someone else because we have greater talents, or we worked harder, or we stayed in school longer, then it isn’t a matter of fairness. Some problems are of our own making, and we ourselves are responsible for fixing most of our own problems. Emotion is not to be abandoned, but it is to be balanced by logic. And no, big Daddy doesn’t buy you everything. As parents we understand this and we try to build this understanding in our children.

However these are lessons the Left has never learned. The Left feels good that they have accomplished something when they give away other people’s money. And no, statistically speaking the Left doesn’t waste their own money on giving to charity. If someone has more than someone else, there can only be one possible reason; unfairness. And the Left knows how to use populist politics, the media, emotional pleas, the judiciary and the political system to “address unfairness”. To the Left the world is simple; all problems can be solved by more government. The government has the moral responsibility to solve all problems, not individuals. All problems can be addressed by transferring more money from productive sectors of the economy to unproductive sectors. Anyone who disagrees with the Left’s ideology is clearly being ideologically driven! And anyone who disagrees with the Left is heartless.

Capitalism is such an efficient system that it pays for all sorts of socialist nonsense. But it is possible to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. And that is one reason why the Left is more than just a nuisance. The Left is dangerous. Their ideology (and it is an ideology) will tear down the economic foundations of our society, resulting in more suffering and more calls for government control and support. What you are left with is bread and circuses, which is OK with the Left provided they are the ones handing out the bread and determining the entertainers for the circuses.